Christmas music played over the stereo as Olivia finished hanging tinsel over the window frame. It was the first of December and decorations had to be up today. It was tradition.
She looked over her shoulder as Griffin muttered under his breath, wrestling the fake tree into position. ‘Since when did it become necessary to have an engineering degree to assemble a Christmas tree?’
‘It’s seriously not that hard,’ she said drolly.
‘Well, tree’s up. Come and decorate it.’
‘Listen to you, full of Christmas spirit.’
‘Other than the stupid tree being a pain to put up, I like Christmas,’ he protested.
Olivia climbed down off the ladder and crossed to his side, digging through the box of her Christmas decorations that had arrived with the rest of her belongings a few weeks ago. She’d officially moved in with Griffin and life was good. The paddock-to-plate business was doing well—her parents were in their element and the bookings had been slowly building. This time when Griffin had broached the subject of moving in together, Olivia hadn’t hesitated. It had taken a move to the other side of the world to make her realise what she truly wanted. She wanted Griffin and a life together right here.
It wasn’t often they could find time to be alone like this, especially at this time of the year with Christmas fast approaching. Linc and Cash would be arriving in a few weeks and the thought didn’t cause the distress that the last visit had. She was looking forward to seeing Cash again. The two women had grown closer since Olivia’s move overseas. Cash had become a good friend and they’d been keeping in touch ever since. The baby was due in March, so it was going to be a bit of an uncomfortable time for Cash in the heat. The excitement in the Callahan household over the upcoming addition to the family was at fever pitch. She could only imagine what it was going to be like once the baby was actually born. Of course, there was still a bit of a dark cloud hovering in the form of Harmony, and how Hadley would deal with that. They were still sworn to silence on the matter and Olivia and Griffin both worried about the wisdom of keeping Hadley’s secret, especially from her parents.
Olivia pushed aside the thoughts that threatened to ruin her festive mood and hung a few of her rose-gold baubles, eyeing the distance between them critically. ‘Do they look even to you?’ she asked Griff, tilting her head slightly.
‘Looks fine,’ Griff said, reaching over to place a green Christmas ball on a branch nearby. Green. ‘It’s a gold theme this year,’ Olivia said calmly as she removed the offending bauble and handed him an appropriately coloured one to hang.
‘What difference does it make?’
Olivia sent him a mock horrified look. ‘You have to have a theme. You can’t just go throwing on any colour you want, willy-nilly.’
‘Then you better put this one up. I wouldn’t want to put it in the wrong place,’ he said dryly, handing her a box.
She took it, distracted by his complete lack of colour coordination, then she looked at it. Her chest constricted. She glanced at his face, serious now, and her hands began to shake.
‘Open it,’ he urged as she stared down at the small box dumbfounded.
Slowly she eased it open, swallowing painfully as a glittering diamond solitaire stared back up at her.
‘I was going to give it to you on Christmas Day, but I couldn’t wait that long,’ he said quietly.
‘Griff … it’s beautiful.’
‘Will you marry me, Liv?’ he asked and she dragged her gaze from the sparkling diamond to search his patient gaze.
She opened her mouth to speak, but instead nodded quickly, not trusting her voice.
‘Yes?’ he confirmed, sliding his hands to her waist and pulling her close.
‘Yes,’ she said, brushing at sudden unexpected tears and smiling up at him. ‘I’ll marry you.’
The kiss that followed stole what was left of her breath, and when they pulled apart, Olivia realised she was clutching the box tightly in her hand. Griff took it from her and placed the ring on her finger, gazing at her with a look that both melted her heart and made her knees shake.
‘I love you, Olivia Dawson.’
‘I love you, Griffin Callahan.’
‘Even if I do this?’ he asked with mischief glittering in his eye. He leaned down, picked up the bright green bauble and placed it in the centre of the tree.
She let out a slow breath. ‘Even if you do that,’ she said, and right at the moment she didn’t care about anything other than being here in his arms, feeling safe and loved. She’d loved him when she was a kid and she loved him even more now.
As he walked her backwards towards their bedroom, she glanced over his shoulder at the annoying out-of-place bauble, messing up her perfect colour-coordinated design. She gave a small chuckle of defeat. Maybe she’d leave it there after all. Sometimes it was good to add a dash of crazy to perfection, just for balance.
She had a feeling the next chapter of their life was going to contain a lot of crazy. But that was okay. As long as they were together, she knew they’d be able to handle whatever came their way.